The invention concerns an improved package typically of cardboard, for the presentation for sale, handling, manipulation and transport, especially by the consumer, of a group of receptacles containing any product and especially a high consumption product, these receptacles being of a generally cylindrical shape, for example bottles of beer.
In hypermarkets, there is a very sharp increase in the capacity of packages for drinks in small bottles. After the appearance of cardboard packages of six bottles, now traditional in more or less sophisticated shapes and sizes, the number rose to eight then ten, and even twelve, and now twenty-four in the case of bottles of 25 cl. Such a quantity bought at any one time seems large for the average consumer; however, studies show a clear evolution of the market in this direction. Currently, for presenting these quantities to the consumer, no use is made of the conventional factory cardboard boxes such as that used for the sale of twelve or more plastic bottles of mineral water. Moreover, the market does not have any cardboard "packs" capable of resisting by their structure alone the mechanical stresses of handling imposed by the weight of such a grouping of twenty-four units (10 kg and more).
Consequently, there has been proposed and utilized a mixed technique which consists in placing a group of bottles side by side on a flat base of the boat-shaped type.
The whole is enveloped in a film of synthetic thermoplastic material which assures the maintenance and cohesion of the bottles. However, besides the purely commercial and advertising inconveniences (lack of personalisation of the whole product), there is a total absence of gripping elements.
To these difficult inconveniences of handling and carriage, which are all the more annoying in proportion as the weight increases, especially for a woman, there is added a total lack of stability of the bottles as soon as the package is opened and its contents broken into. Besides, this type of pack is in no way adapted for gripping with one hand alone. Finally, when the film is taken off, the boat-shaped base becomes totally useless as a container, for example for the return of empties or collecting them with a view to recycling.
It has also been suggested, for the transport of bottles, to use ordinary cardboard packages, of the American box or tray type, having at the four corners large holes allowing the passing through of a strap which grips the bottles tightly against each other. Such rather heavy packages are very difficult to manipulate for the consumer, who has no handle to grasp and carry them with.